by NikoRad

Created on: October 27, 2009

The Screwtape Letters is a wonderful book of fiction by C.S. Lewis that gives much insight and wisdom on the topic of human weakness, resisting temptation to do evil, and other such things that plague many Christians. However, even though Lewis wrote this book with a Christian foundation to it, it's one of those books that anyone can gain something from, because of the interesting ideas Lewis puts forth.

The book consists of thirty-one letters from a demon Screwtape, a demon of much regard and high position in Hell, who writes to a lowlier Tempter, Wormwood, and instructs him in the art of corrupting humanity. Wormwood is assigned to a certain human during the WWII era and is continually influencing the patient's thoughts. It is this setting that shows us the difference between the teaching of Wormwood and the teaching of Screwtape.

Wormwood continually writes back in exasperation, saying that there is a war, that the patient is thinking something bad, or that the patient is questioning his faith. Screwtape continually replies and addresses the young Tempter's ignorance. Screwtape advises Wormwood repeatedly that it is not the large, obvious evils that truly corrupt humans, but instead small, subtle urges and nudges here and there. As Screwtape beautifully puts it, "Jargon, not argument, is your best ally in keeping him from the Church" (Storck 1, Lewis 8). Small things that the patient does not identify as really bad will be of more use over time, as compared to large wrongdoings that will cause the patient to stop and consider his actions and perhaps ask God-by name in the book, The Enemy-for assistance.

The theme is nestled in all this ideology - small evils are what corrupt humans, not large ones. Large evils are detestable by most -war, genocide, tyranny. These things do not attract many - and demons look at quantity more than quality, for they need their fill of human souls in Hell, else they will starve. Instead, small evils will be more accepted and less prone to make people realize the wrong of their actions -lying about small things; a small night of lustful adultery that happens only once and then is put in the past; being unselfish in the worldly way, by rejecting all that is given with the hope of being saintly in doing so, instead of by God's intended way of simply accepting what is given without wanting more. Screwtape names so many truths of humanity in each letter that it really forces the reader to do some soul-searching.

This book is very

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